Miles: 1309.6 | A hot climb to Mohican Outdoor Center brings packages, new shoes, fresh batteries, and a joyful reunion with trail friends, followed by clear spring water, a fire tower view, sunset dinner beneath powerlines, poison ivy care, and a rare cool evening spent laughing under tarps with friends.
In the morning we left later than Supersize and Biscuits. Miles and I hiked up to the Mohican Outdoors Center in the hot sun. When we arrived in the early afternoon, we picked up our boxes and a smoothie to share.
Outside, I made a PB&J to go with my smoothie and Miles made some coffee. We unpacked our new shoes and socks. I also got a new battery for my phone because mine hadn't been holding a charge well.
While we were eating lunch and waiting for our phones and batteries to charge, TNT arrived. Shortly after him, Josh and Murdock came up to the picnic tables, too! We happily talked about everything we'd missed with each other and how much we'd all changed (strong hiker legs and tanned shoulders). TNT and Josh got lunch and we sat with them while they ate. We played a couple games of blackjack on the picnic table outside in the shade of a big tree.
A couple of section hikers we had seen earlier in New Jersey arrived shortly before we left. Ryan, 10 years old, and his father were section hiking for 4 days. Ryan's pack was just about 10 pounds and he carried it all by himself doing 5 miles per day. It was Ryan's first section hike but his dad had been out many times. It was so great to see a kid out backpacking and camping! He hardly complained at all.
The five of us (Josh, Murdock, TNT, Miles, and I) all left Mohican together to find camp in the late afternoon light. Our first fire tower came up shortly after Mohican. Fire towers for the hills and mountains of the Northeast, so we will see many more. It had great views.
We found a spring that was actually running near a forest road a few miles after The fire tower. The first clear and running water we had found since early Pennsylvania! I got four liters and carried it out for camp. Miles and I quickly sped ahead of Josh and TNT. The two of us stopped and made dinner at a set of powerlines that lent a beautiful view into the valley below. We watched the sunset while we ate and marveled at the hazy sky. Just before the full sunset Josh and TNT caught up to us.
We hiked with them to camp and we all set up our respective shelters. I gathered with TNT and Murdock under Josh's tarp and helped Josh nurse his monster poison ivy rash. Poor Josh had already gotten poison ivy so many times on his thru-hike. I tried Cook Doctor's remedy of cleaning it with rubbing alcohol (or hand sanitizer we had on hand) and covering it with cortisone. We sat around listening to a Eugene Mirman (of Bob's Burgers fame) stand up show and eating. It was finally a cool, summer evening and it was well spent with friends.